INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 1 The Influence of Decision-Maker Gender on Child Custody Decisions

Custodial rulings are high in prevalence, yet low in standardized criteria necessary in preventing biased decisions. Because various legal decision-makers inform custodial decisions, it is crucial to examine individual difference predictors of such decisions. Indeed, research has revealed that factors related to parents involved in custodial disputes (gender, social adjustment, and social skills) influence outcomes in custody cases (Kunin, Ebbesen, & Konečni, 1992). In my own previous research, I have explored various factors that have the potential to impact a custodial decision (e.g., a mother’s tattoo, a mother’s race, a mother’s history of mental illness). In the present study I explore the impact of participant gender on decisions regarding whether an abusive parent who had lost child custody be awarded custody of her child in the future. I conducted a novel study in which participants read a vignette depicting a neglectful mother who had lost custody of her child, but who was making strides toward regaining custody. Supporting my hypotheses, women were less likely to grant the mother full custody of the child, as compared to men. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by women’s belief that the mother was a less capable parent. INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 4 The Influence of Decision-Maker Gender on Child Custody Decisions Numerous custody cases reach dependency court each year. Few of these cases are straightforward, and many accompany allegations of abuse and neglect. Because custody rulings are often emotional, and certainly involve serious life-long consequences that affect both the parent and child, it is imperative and a legal requirement that these rulings be unbiased and uninfluenced by prejudicial emotion. Yet, social science research repeatedly reveals the existence of personal prejudice and its effects on behavior and decisions. It is, therefore of great value to explore factors that predict outcomes in custodial cases, which often include emotionally laden legal decisions. Indeed, numerous benign characteristics of parents have the potential to influence custodial rulings, including, for instance, physical appearance, visible tattoos, and a father’s post-divorce living arrangement (Kunin, Ebbesen, & Konečni, 1992; Denne, Wornica, Meyer, & Stevenson, 2013). Moreover, characteristics of legal decision-makers (e.g., judges and social workers) have the potential to affect child custodial decisions as well. In the current study, I explore how decision-maker gender shapes rulings in child custodial cases. Factors Shaping Child Custodial Decisions Although limited, emerging research has documented various factors that have the potential to shape child custodial decisions. For instance, legislation and policy directly limit the parental rights of parents with mental illness when they are involved in a child custodial case. Specifically, more than 40% of all 50 states limit the child custody rights of parents who have a mental illness (see Hemmens, Miller, Burton, & Milner, 2002 for a review). A more recent study revealed that eight states and the District of Columbia take the parent’s mental and physical health into consideration in regards to custody decisions (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013). Although considering parental mental and physical health in a child custodial INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 5 case might be in the best interest of the child, recent research suggests that negative stereotypes and myths associated with mental illness drive discriminatory child custodial decisions targeting parents with a history of mental illness (Wornica, Denne, & Stevenson, 2016). A few studies have explored the potential for extra-legal characteristics related to the parent to shape child custodial decisions. For instance, Kunin and colleagues (1992) examined 282 custody investigations from 1982 from the San Diego County Superior Court to explore the actual effects of these variables in real-life custodial decisions. The researchers assessed and coded information about parents involved in dependency court cases, including demographic information, counselor notes, and psychiatric evaluations. When a mother was rated “high” in physical appearance, social skills, and social adjustment by a court appointed counselor, she was more likely to receive full custody than if she was rated as “low” in those characteristics (Kunin et al., 1992). Only one study has included an experimental manipulation of characteristics associated with a mother involved in a child custodial dispute. Specifically, Denne, Wornica, and Stevenson (2014) experimentally manipulated the presence of a mother’s visible tattoo to explore the impact of tattoo presence on participants’ likelihood to grant her full custody. Participants read a vignette depicting a mother involved in a custodial dispute over her child. The mother was described as generally responsible, but that she had engaged in isolated behaviors indicating poor parenting. In line with hypotheses, participants were marginally less likely to allocate full custody to the tattooed mother as compared to the non-tattooed mother, and perceived the tattooed mother as a significantly less capable parent than the non-tattooed mother – a belief that significantly mediated participants’ tendency to deny her full custody. These findings are consistent with research indicating that women with tattoos are perceived to be less attractive, INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 6 less religious, psychologically unstable, and financially insecure, (Swami & Furnham, 2007; Martin & Dula, 2010; Braverman, 2012) -all factors that have been shown to greatly reduce a mother’s chance of receiving custody (Chesler, 1991; Efran, 1974). Gender Differences in Reactions to Child Abuse Although there is a small body of research exploring parent characteristics that predict outcomes in child custody cases, currently no research has explored participant characteristics – namely participant gender – as predictors of decisions in child custody cases (i.e. Chesler, 1991; Warshak, 1996). I expect that participant gender will emerge as a predictor of child custodial decisions, particularly when child abuse is involved. Specifically, I expect that women will be less likely than men to award child custody to a previously abusive parent. Next, I turn to research and theory highlighting participant gender differences in reactions to cases involving child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, and child neglect. Gender Differences in Perceptions of Child Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse and Neglect In cases involving child sexual or physical abuse, women tend to make more pro-child victim rulings than men and tend to make more case judgments that lead to defendant convictions (Bottoms et al., 2011; Dukes & Kean, 1989; Bottoms, Golding, Stevenson, & Yozwiak, 2007; Bottoms, 1993; Bottoms et al., 2014). Such gender differences are most strongly and frequently demonstrated in cases involving child sexual abuse (for a review, see Bottoms et al., 2007), yet they extend to cases involving child physical abuse and child neglect as well (Dukes & Kean, 1989). For instance, Dukes and Kean (1989) presented participants with incidences of child psychological abuse, neglect, and physical abuse. Participants then answered a series of questions assessing the extent to which they believed the incidents were abusive. Women viewed all the scenarios as more abusive than did male participants. In a similar study conducted by Bornstein, Kaplan, and Perry (2007), participants read vignettes depicting severe INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 7 sexual abuse, mild sexual abuse, or physical abuse. Participants then answered a questionnaire assessing the severity and likelihood of reoccurrence of abuse. Results revealed that women tended to view both sexual and physical abuse as more severe, and more likely to reoccur, as compared to male participants (see also Howe, Herzberger, & Tennen, 1988). In a more recent mock trial study conducted by Bottoms and colleagues (2011), participants read a detailed scenario depicting a father accused of smothering his three month old baby to death with a towel out of frustration over the baby’s incessant crying. Women, as compared to men, were more likely to rule in favor of the prosecution, support a harsher punishment for the defendant, and value the infant as a unique being. These effects of gender were mediated by men’s greater empathy, sympathy, and similarity felt toward the male perpetrator (the father). These findings suggest that the gender differences evidenced in child sexual abuse cases also persist in child neglect and physical abuse cases. While no studies to date have explored whether gender differences emerge in participants’ judgments in child custodial cases, it is reasonable to expect that similar gender differences will emerge, particularly when participants are asked to render decisions regarding withholding custody of a child from a neglectful parent. Understanding Participant Gender Differences in Reactions to Child Abuse Cases Although well-established gender differences in reactions toward child abuse consistently emerge, it is important to understand the psychological underpinnings of such effects. It is unlikely that these gender differences are due to fundamental differences in male and female anatomy. Instead, empirical evidence suggests that these gender differences are driven by underlying psychological phenomenon -namely gender differences in empathy toward children (Bottoms et al., 2007; Bottoms et al., 2014). Empathy is defined by Davis (1983) as the cognitive and emotional reaction of a person to the experiences of another. This includes the ability to take another person’s perspective and INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 8 sensitivity to others. Specifically in rape cases, men have been shown to be less empathic towards the female rape victim than women and, as a result, make less pro-victim judgments (Barnett et al., 1992; Deitz & Littman, 1984; Deitz & Byrnes, 1981). Further studies have demonstrated that these findings generalize to children specifically in sexual abuse cases (Barnett et al., 1992; Davis, 1983; Bottoms, 1993; Toussaint & Webb, 2005; Bottoms et al., 2011). That is, women (compared to men) tend to experience more empathy for children and have stronger negative reactions to child sexual abuse – emotions and attitudes that drive their increased likelihood to convict the defendant (Bottoms, Peter-Hagene, Stevenson, Wiley, Mitchell, & Goodman, 2014). There are several possible explanations for the effect of participant gender on levels of child-victim empathy in sexual abuse contexts. One such explanation is that women are able to relate to children better than men. Empathy is highest when the subject considers it possible that they would be in the same situation as the victim, or they perceive the victim as similar to themselves (Aderman, Brehm, & Katz, 1974). Women are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse than men, and therefore sexual abuse is a more salient issue for women (Bottoms, 1993; Bottoms et al., 2014). Because women are better able to identify with children who have been victims of sexual abuse (Back & Lips, 1988), they feel more empathy for them (Beling, Hudson, & Ward, 2001; Bottoms et al., 2014). Alternatively, gender roles and socialization can explain, in part, gender differences in empathy and attitudes towards children (Eagly &Wood, 1991; Nicholas & Bieber, 1994; Hoffman, 1977; Bottoms et al., 2014). The attitudes that men and women have are a reflection of their socialization (Beling, Hudson, & Ward, 2001). Women are socialized to be caring, concerning and child-oriented, gearing them towards child care behavior and parenting; INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 9 alternatively, men are socialized to be aggressive and independent (Bradshaw & Hinds, 1997; Kean & Dukes, 1991; Hoffman, 1977; Barnett & Sinisi, 1990). Additionally, women’s societal roles allocate them increased experience with children (Bottoms, 1993). It is possible then that women’s care-focused orientation and experience with children translates into women valuing children more, and in turn, empathizing with children more than men. Differences in empathy translate into pro-victim rulings in numerous ways. Empathy influences one’s ability to take other’s perspectives, which in turn affects perceived responsibility for behavior. In a child sexual abuse context, men tend to perceive children as more responsible for their abuse than do women (Back & Lips, 1998). Alternatively, empathy for the child, which is more commonly experienced among women, helps prevent victimblaming. Even if originally the evaluator was disposed to make negative child attributions, these attributions may be superseded by feelings of compassion and identification with the child victim (Bottoms, 1993). In turn, those with higher levels of empathy are more likely to make provictim rulings, at least in child sexual abuse cases (Bottoms, 1993; Bottoms, 2014). Indeed, women tend to render more pro-prosecution judgments in child sexual abuse cases precisely because women, on average, have higher levels of empathy toward victims of child sexual abuse. Illustrating that empathy ultimately explains gender differences in child victim judgments, Bottoms et al. (2014) found that men who were more empathic toward children tended to make more pro-child victim judgments (much like women, generally). Likewise, women who were less empathic toward children made fewer pro-victim judgments (much like men, generally). Although research has been limited to the psychological underpinnings of gender differences in reactions to child sexual abuse, it is likely that these theoretical explanations generalize to other forms of abuse (physical abuse or neglect). In support, women are at greater INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON CUSTODIAL DECISIONS 10 risk of experiencing domestic physical victimization, as well (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). This is supported by Kean and Dukes (1991) who found that women are slightly more likely than men to intervene on behalf on a physically abused child and slightly more likely than men to take action against an abusive parent (Kean & Dukes, 1991). Decision-Maker Gender Differences in Custody Rulings No research to date has explored possible decision-maker gender differences in reactions to child custodial cases involving child abuse. Social workers and judges make evaluations and decisions regarding family reunification versus termination of parental rights when cases involve previously substantiated child abuse. It is possible that the decision-maker’s gender might shape such decisions – a possibility that I explore in the present research. In the present study, I presented men and women participants with a vignette depicting a neglectful mother who had lost custody of her child, but who was making strides toward regaining custody. I expect that men will grant the mother custody of her child more frequently than women. Furthermore, I predict that these gender differences in custody rulings will be mediated by beliefs about the capability of the mother, such that men will believe the previously neglectful mother to be a more capable parent as compared to women. These hypotheses are in line with previously reviewed research illustrating that women (versus men) tend to hold more pro-child attitudes (Barnett & Sinisi, 1990; Hoffman, 1977) and perceive child abuse to be more severe (Hansen et al, 1997; Bornstein, Kaplan, & Perry; 2007; Bottoms et al., 2014).